Breaking News: Auburn Softball Coach Announces Retirement

Auburn, Ala. Auburn’s softball team has taken a surprising blow as Coach Clint Myers has decided to retire.

The impact that coach Myers has had on the program is well known. He catapulted the softball program into overnight stardom. In just four years of being captain of the ship, he took the Tigers to the Women’s College World Series twice. All four of his teams made the NCAA Tournament. The 2017 Tigers won their NCAA Regional before falling to eventual national champion Oklahoma, the team that defeated Auburn in the 2016 national championship game.

“After 40 years of coaching and reflecting on the importance of spending quality time with my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, I have decided to retire from a sport that I love dearly and which has brought so much joy to me,” Myers said in a statement. “I have had the chance to coach many great student-athletes. I have seen them grow to be outstanding contributors to society. My time in coaching has been a source of great pride. I appreciate the opportunity to coach at Auburn and am proud of our successes.“I know the program has a bright future,” Myers continued. “The community and group of fans have been incredible, and I have truly appreciated their support. Auburn is a special place.”

AU’s Director of Athletics, Jay Jacobs, said, “I am very proud of the many great accomplishments our student-athletes have achieved during Coach Myers’ tenure at Auburn. The foundation for ongoing success is here because of Coach Myers’ love of Auburn and his desire to see this program reach a level of success that it had never seen before.

Looking forward, we will continue to support our softball team in every way possible so as to ensure their continued success on and off the field of play,” said Jacobs.

With Myers as head coach, Auburn began making national news, and the fan base grew substantially both at home and abroad. The Tigers sold out season tickets in the preseason the last two years.

The news comes as a bit of a shock as the veteran coach signed a contract at the end of last season and this summer the school announced a nearly $5 million dollar plan to upgrade Jane B. Moore Field.

Jacobs promised an immediate search for a replacement, the team is scheduled to begin fall workouts in September and a handful of exhibition games are scheduled in October. The regular season will start in February.

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There is some concern on my part, I will say, of the abrupt retirement decision. His son abruptly resigning in the middle of the season due to "personal reasons" was troubling. Then the surprising transfer of Auburn catcher, Carlee Wallace, was a little unsettling, but I tried not to read into anything, but that was two. Then Auburn did extend his contract to 2023 earlier this summer according to reports to keep him happy, but apparently that didn't work. I am not speculating ANYTHING, but I can't help but wonder if there is something happening personally or professionally that drew the line in the sand for him to reach this decision.

Just saw this and I’ve got to say I’m shocked. But at the same time, I really appreciate what Coach Myers has done to put Auburn Softball and women’s sports on the map. Now Auburn has just got to go out and hire another good one and keep what he built going.

I’ll leave speculation to others, but I am so entirely fatigued by stories like these emerging from Auburn athletics. I realize bad things happen at other universities in various athletic programs all the time, but at some point you have to wonder if the people that keep putting us in this position at Auburn are learning from their mistakes or even care about doing so.